Life is Too Weird

Divorcing man saws house in half

BERLIN, Germany (Reuters) -- A 43-year-old German decided to settle his imminent divorce by chainsawing a family home in two and making off with his half in a forklift truck.

Police in the eastern town of Sonneberg said on Friday the trained mason measured the single-storey summer house -- which was some 8 meters (26 feet) long and 6 meters wide -- before chainsawing through the wooden roof and walls.

"The man said he was just taking his due," said a police spokesman. "But I don't think his wife was too pleased."

After finishing the job, the man picked up his half with the forklift truck and drove to his brother's house where he has since been staying.

Thanks to AmyM for the, er, POV.

Amusing article from The Onion. And don't forget to Fall Back this weekend!

October 25, 2006 | Issue 42•43

As a follow-up to a previous post about the Bob Jones University dress code, Laurince also sent me the following: Liberty (?) University Student Code of Conduct schedule of 'Reprimands and Consequences'.

12 Reprimands + $50 Fine:

• Attendance at, possession or viewing of, an "R," "NC-17" or "X"-rated movie
  
• Deception
  
• Entering the residence hallway of the opposite sex or allowing the same
  
• Entering the space above ceiling tiles [ed. note: do they have a lot of trouble with this there??]
  
• Participation in an unauthorized petition or demonstration
  
• Possession and/or viewing of sexually explicit material
  
• Students of the opposite sex visiting alone at an off-campus residence

The things they equate interest me--these were all listed under the highest penalty section:

• Abortion
  
• Academic dishonesty
  
• Immorality
  
• Involvement with witchcraft, séances or other satanic or demonic activity

Grapefruit May Make Women Seem Younger

Institute director Alan Hirsch said he smeared several middle-aged woman with broccoli, banana, spearmint leaves, and lavender but none of those scents made a difference to the men.

Thanks, Akeisha.

This caught my eye, cuz my mom was telling me a few days ago that she was going to be working with a guy from BJU this summer. No big surprise, their dress code is a bit...puritanical. But this is the part that really amused me:

Abercrombie & Fitch and its subsidiary Hollister have shown an unusual degree of antagonism to the name of Christ and an unusual display of wickedness in their promotions. In protest, we will not allow articles displaying their logos to be worn, carried, or displayed (even if covered or masked in some way) [emphasis mine].

Thanks, Laurince.

John, an old classmate of mine, just sent me to this "it could only happen in America" moment: Jesus Christ in legal battle to get license

Great last line: "Christ is not speaking to the press at this time," Pishevar said.

110 people won lottery using fortune cookie numbers (from NY Times-requires free registration or go to bugmenot.com for a free signin).

http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/irresistible/4470306/detail.html

I wonder if they have a Hallmark card for that...

Thanks to Kelly P.

From the NYTimes online yesterday in an article about how the show Spamalot (which I saw in Chicago in January--whoop!) is bringing straight boys to Broadway:

"If I were of frat boy age and I had $100, would I opt for a Broadway ticket or would I want to spend that on booze and drugs?" Mr. [Harvey] Fierstein asked. "Even I, and I am as gay as a pink leather piñata, would choose booze and drugs."

::cue the Wallace and Gromit 'cheese' hand motion::

SCIENTISTS NAME WORLD’S WHIFFIEST CHEESE

Vieux Boulogne, a soft, yet firm French cheese made from cow’s milk and matured by washing with beer, tops a list of the smelliest cheeses reveals scientists today....

“Love it or loathe it, the sign of a fine cheese is often its characteristic smell as well as its flavour and texture and we wanted to find out if France’s reputation for producing smelly cheeses was true,� said Sally Clarke from Fine Cheeses from France.

Dr Stephen White, senior research officer Cranfield University led the study by using an electronic nose as well as a human olfactory panel to sniff out those with the strongest scent.

Okay, I've been following with less than half an eye the story of the poor Chinese delivery guy who got stuck in an elevator for three days in the Bronx. This follow-up from the NYTimes, however, gave me pause. It seems they broke down doors (without warrants, presumably, due to "circumstances that required immediate action") of residents, but didn't think to check all the elevators, even though the delivery guy had called security from the car! WTF? A combo of bad communication, territoriality and (so it seems) corporate ass-covering have made for a Three Stooges week in the Bronx. Oh, yeah, and now the guy may be deported? Welcome to the land of the free, home of the brave.

From the NY Times, No Need to Stew: A Few Tips to Cope With Life's Annoyances.

To examine the little weapons people use for everyday survival is to be given a free guidebook on getting by, created by the millions who feel that they must. It is a case study in human inventiveness, with occasional juvenile and petty passages, and the originators of these tips are happy to share them.

...When ordering a pizza from Domino's, Mr. Kirk says he always requests a "small," knowing that he will be corrected and told that medium is the smallest available size. "It makes me feel better to point out that their word games aren't fooling anyone," he said.

...[note from the Rant: this is my favorite!] Mitch Altman, a 48-year old inventor living in San Francisco, said that in the last three months he has sold about 30,000 of his key-chain-size zappers called TV-B-Gone, which can be used discreetly to switch off televisions in public places. "When you go to a restaurant to talk with friends, why should you have to deal with the distraction of a ceiling-mounted television?" Mr. Altman said.

I've been really upset by the murder of Judge Lefkow's family. Here's a woman who made significant contributions to her family, her profession, and her workplace (what judge starts a day care center?!). Now it seems the perpetrator has been found and has killed himself. It's just so pathetic and sad. A perfect compliment to this gray, blustery day. I certainly hope she stays on the bench. We need more jurists like her.

Hunter S. Thompson, who shot himself last Sunday, may have his ashes shot from a cannon. Seems fitting somehow.

Seems that Mary Kay Letourneau is marrying her underage beau. They even have a wedding registry. Ick.